Revival and Heretics : In Defense of Dr. Michael L. Brown against the gossippers

If you are not aware, the former President of the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry has came under attack by some online heresy hunters that want to attack him, Daniel Kolenda, myself and about everyone who was ever connected with the Brownsville Revival at all. I am aware that Dr. Michael L. Brown did a show of over an hour to address the attacks.

Understand this article is not at the request of FIRE School (I have no connection with them) or Line of Fire (his radio show). I am doing this because my name has been thrown into the mix and I personally feel that attacks are divise and just unneeded.

Before we get into the nonsense going around, I find it odd that they seem to be uneducated about what a Pentecostal and a Charismatic even is. They think I am a Charismatic. It is downright offensive to call a classic Pentecostal a Charismatic. People have had cage fights for far less! There is some serious differences between the two and any serious study of church history would know this.

It is also important to understand that the people doing this subscribe to reformed theology and most are radical Calvinists. Many Baptists are not as militant as these people. There are many friendly baptists. These guys could learn a lot from guys like Dr. Ron Phillips.

Dr. Michael L. Brown believes in revival!

At the core of the debate is the issue of Brown is a voice of revivalism in America. While I wish that he would spend more time talking about revival and less about social issues such as gay marriage; He does want to see another national revival in America. We both agree that we critically need one.

As I can tell from the show the guys did on the radio, the core issues that Dr. Michael L. Brown does not condemn every Charismatic and if he does not condemn them, he must be endorsing them. This would be like me saying that I endorse Todd Bentley because I don’t condemn him but forgetting just yesterday I released an article calling his “secret place” teaching into question. It is possible to disagree in one area and agree on other areas. It is really not an all or nothing thing.

While Brown wants to use the Jonathan Edwards test for revivalism (I do understand why), I actually think we should just use the Book of Acts. Until our shadows is healing the sick and whole city are converted by the gospel, we are not “extreme.” People who claims that Pentecostals and Charismatics pray too much forgotten that the early church caused earthquakes when they prayed. If we apply the Book of Acts as the model, we are nowhere close to biblical revivalism in America.

The good news is we are going to see a major revival happen in our lifetime and it will bring in the harvest of this generation. If it will be the big one, the great end time harvest spoke of in scripture, I can not say that but it will be huge.

Trip down memory lane….

The problem with people like this is they are informed people historically. The truth is that there was miracles everywhere during the reformation and even Martin Luther saw several people healed by the Holy Spirit personally. Miracles were far more normal than people want us to believe. Supernatural encounters were often for the reformers. If you would like to honestly know more about this, I highly suggest the book 2000 years of Charismatic Christianity by Dr. Eddie Hyatt.

John Wesley would preach in the open fields and people were told not to climb the trees because when the power of the Holy Spirit felt on the meeting, they would fall out of the trees slain in the Spirit. John Wesley would not be considered a Pentecostal but he walked in power and there is a case for people who that Wesley spoke in tongues on a regular basis.

During the Cane Ridge revival, there was so many spiritual activity in the meetings that it divided the nation. There was a group that has spiritual trances during the meetings of Peter Cartwright. When the people came out of it, they would speaking in tongues. This was not a Pentecostal camp meeting, either. This was the second great awakening led by….. Methodists and Baptists!

On a side note, it was out of the reformed arm of Christianity that came a very questionable movement that has caused major issues today. You might have heard of them. They are called the Church of the Latter Day Saints or more popularly called the Mormons. Joseph Smith was a popular speaker in reformed church at the start of his ministry.

Discernment vs Cruelty in Christians

The people doing this will claim they are discernment ministries. I find it completely odd they believe that healing and prophecy left with the apostles but discernment got a free pass. If healing disappeared so did discernment. If we have one, we must have the other. For the record, none of them disappeared and there is no evidence to back this claim whatsoever.

Discernment is a real spiritual gift but it is not just “you are good” and “that guy is bad.” Discernment of spirits is not character assassinations of people. There is a BIG differences. I also find it completely insane that these people can discern a spirit but offer no solution to help them. In the end, they are discerning a spirit, they are just criticizing theological differences. Nothing spiritual about it.

What most of these website are is nothing more than cruel people that set themselves as judge and jury. Some of them do not even give people the right to the sixth amendment. At the core of our Republic (United States) is the right to know those who accuse you. If a person has to hide in the shadows without coming out using their own name; they must not believe in their cause too much. It is far too easy to be cruel when you are hiding with a fake name. This is not just with Dr. Michael L. Brown, either. They have done to about everyone in the Pentecostal movement.